Thank You for Your Support!
On several levels during the past month, I have felt extremely supported and cared for as your pastor and friend. First of all, thanks for all your concern and prayers about my mother, Doris. She went home after 4 days in the hospital and is feeling much improved. When she was taken in by ambulance, we didn’t think she would ever wake up. So much CO2 had built up in her system that she simply couldn’t wake up. The doctors didn’t expect her to ever regain consciousness, and since she had signed a “Do Not Resuscitate” order previously, I was told not to expect to see her again. “Come now!” was the suggestion from the doctors.
What a wonderful surprise it was to walk in to the emergency room out at Kaiser Hospital in Fontana three hours later (horrid rush hour travel!) and find her awake and improving! Later that evening, I had the privilege of praying with her and my brother Bob. It was great! Many, many thanks to you all for your prayers, notes, e-mail and kind words.
Support has also been incredible for my June Caller article on the Synod Convention. I don’t often get “cranky” about such things, and I especially don’t like to resort to demagoguery or act like a “rabble rouser” (as those in authority in the church seem to think of anyone who disagrees with their leadership), but I think we, as “rabble,” need to be “roused” to some of these major issues confronting the church. These are issues that will change forever the direction of the Lutheran church, and not, I think, for the good. I have reached the point where I cannot sit still for such things any longer without at least trying to influence the direction of the church.
Not only is the church being asked to disregard clear scripture on homosexuality issues within the church, but we are being led “like sheep to slaughter” to a virtual merger with the Episcopal Church. Many of us had acquiesced into a kind of sleepy apathy over cooperative ventures and “full communion” talks with other churches. After all, Jesus wanted Christians to “be one,” didn’t he (John 17:11, 23)? What could be wrong with this? Episcopalians are nice - why should we worry?
These talks with the Episcopalians are much different than those with other churches, and will require that we largely disregard most of our own history, theology and practice to be a part of this “full communion Concordat.” Episcopalians would not have to budge an inch. As I have said before, many churches will get “goofy” around the end of the millennium. Our church’s particular version of goofiness seems to be a kind of promiscuous mergermania, in which we will mate with any church body that will have us, no matter what it does to our theology and practice as Lutherans (sorry for several mixed metaphors there!). Ultimately, our witness will be diluted and distorted, and rather than developing our mission into the world to witness for Christ, we will use our energies battling internally because of truly stupid decisions like this. It is a path to self-destruction and absorption of the remaining damaged pieces of the Lutheran church.
What’s the “Next Step” for us? Our executive committee has discussed drafting a formal resolution from our Congregation Council to the Synod for consideration at the next assembly in June of ‘99. But not simply on gay/lesbian issues or church merger issues, but on an underlying issue, one much more troubling to me and others, and one from which nonsense like these other resolutions arise.
As I have observed Synod conventions over my 15 years of ministry, I have noticed a worsening trend. At Synod Conventions, people with particular social agendas “rule the roost” - that is to say, the course of the church is being determined, not by the Scripture or sound church policies based in Scripture and church tradition, but by people who want to see a particular course followed (and who are ill-equipped to provide Christian leadership), and who use emotional appeals to sway the Synod to make their social agenda the standard for the church. It is seductive, but wrong.
Since the formation of the ELCA in 1988, the balance of voting power has been changed at conventions. There are at lease two lay delegates for each pastor (in nearly every church). Most lay people, by definition, are not theologically trained (be glad for that!). Many may come from other than Lutheran church traditions. Some may be new Christians. How can we expect such lay people to make significant decisions on Scriptural interpretation and ecclesiology (church polity, historical practices and management)? It isn’t fair to the laity of the church to expect this, it isn’t sound management policy to ask ill-informed people to make technical decisions, and it simply isn’t right.
There are certainly exceptions among lay people - some are quite knowledgeable. But most, in my experience, are not, and are quite open about it! They expect to be well instructed and informed on decisions that need to be made, but it is not happening. It’s almost as though the lay members of the church are being kept in the dark so they can be swayed at the convention to vote in whatever direction is desired by leadership. Our resolution will ask that if the synod assembly is being asked to make significant, technical decisions, then competent, unbiased teachers and scholars must be brought in from our seminaries to inform and advise the assembly. Not more church politicians or bureaucrats (they’re the same as the ones in government, by the way!), but trained scholars and theologians!
Keep your church and us in your prayers. Remember to send in those summer donations, even if you’re traveling! It gets a little sparse here during the summer! Blessings and peace,
Pastor Larry
